Monday’s trial pushed to March

Days after a joint viewing of juvenile court records in December, a Superior Court judge agreed to delay Monday’s trial of 18-year-old Jaquareus Thomez Holden on a first-degree murder charge.

Judge Robert H. Hobgood set the jury trial for March 24, according to an order filed for the case late last month.

An “in-camera” review of juvenile case files and records, according to Hobgood’s notes, was conducted on Dec. 12. The juvenile records are under a seal from public view.

Hobgood did not indicate if any direct link exists between the viewing of the juvenile records and the further trial delay.

The trial had been bumped from earlier set dates because of delays in State Bureau of Investigation lab work that originally had been stored in Henderson police hands by mistake.

Six officers with the Henderson police, including Lt. Christopher Ball, had been subpoenaed for delivering possible testimony for trial.

Also subpoenaed were Kim Nalevaiko with Bertie Ambulance Services, Doyle Carpunky with Vance County Rescue and Brian Short, the director of Vance County Emergency Operations.

A jury selection process is scheduled to begin on Monday, when jurors of a pool as of late December had been scheduled to gather for a possible trial during the January trial week. There are 21 other felony cases on the docket for possible trial or hearings on lesser motions to take place.

Holden is charged with killing his mother June 15, 2011. He was 15 when arrested for the shooting death of Letitia Renee Hammond, 33, in the 710 S. Carolina Ave. home where they both lived.

In December, Assistant District Attorney Allison Capps said six tests from the SBI, which delayed a possible trial in November, had been completed.

Both sides, including defense attorney Paul Stainback, indicated readiness for a Jan. 6 trial as of mid-December.

Evidence for trial includes elements from several searches, one of the home where Hammond died and another of a 2006 Mazda 6 sedan linked to the household.

Court clerks said the documents on those searches and all other juvenile case files are not available as part of the case file in Superior Court even though the case was transferred.

According to autopsy reports, Hammond was shot multiple times at close range in the kitchen and hall areas of her home.

Orders for a $250,000 bond in the case include no contact with witnesses, according to a statement signed by District Court Judge Henry Banks.

Holden is also barred from the premises of 710 S. Carolina Ave.

According to record as of Oct. 31, Holden was in custody at Guilford County Youth Detention Facility, about 100 miles from Henderson.

A bond release document stated the Vance County Jail originally released Holden into the custody of the Durham Youth Home.

The Superior Court case file did not contain information on bond surety or payment for release as of Thursday.